


Icy Cold

by onewavenue



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Rivals to Lovers, figure skater!kino, hockey player!wooseok, kind of, kino is confused, they love each other they just dont know it yet, they're both super gay, wooseok is overenthusiatic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:27:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29053608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onewavenue/pseuds/onewavenue
Summary: Hyunggu is a figure skater; poised, quiet, and fairly mild. Wooseok is the opposite. What happens when the hockey player shows up to Hyunggu's qualifiers with a bouquet of flowers and a secret to spill?
Relationships: Jung Wooseok/Kang Hyunggu | Kino, Yan An/Yeo Changgu | Yeo One
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	Icy Cold

Hyunggu considered himself to be fairly mild, never trying to cause trouble or picking on others. He mostly stayed in his own little bubble, alternating between sleeping, eating and skating with few changes to his routine. The same could not be said about Wooseok.

He was Hyunggu’s polar opposite. The older of the two was a figure skater; light on his feet and naturally graceful. He hated confrontation and generally tried to stay out of everyone’s way. Wooseok, on the other hand, was a hockey player; loud, overenthusiastic, and a team player in every sense of the word.

No one really knows why or how the two became rivals. Perhaps it was a natural rivalry between opposing sports, or a natural childish competitiveness stemming from them growing up together. Wooseok was always playfully teasing him, clapping whenever he missed an element in practice or making weird faces at him during competitions. He mostly found it annoying as hell, but a part of him found it… endearing? Cute? He still wasn’t sure about his feelings for Wooseok; he often chided himself for thinking about what it would be like to date his rival. He tried not to think about it much, though - he had bigger things to worry about. Like the qualifiers for the national championship that he just so happened to register for.

A few days before the free program, Wooseok and Hyunggu found each other again at the skating rink. This time, however, neither of them were alone. 

Hyunggu and his rinkmate Yanan were killing time before their practice was over; they were both tired and sweaty and bored, so instead they had a conversation about nothing and skated in lazy circles around the rink. Hyunggu was enjoying himself - he felt comfortable around the older man, and he almost felt like a brother to him. Not to mention, he was incredibly talented - despite all their years of practicing together, Hyunggu could count the times he’d seen Yanan make a mistake on one hand.

“Have you seen your costume yet?”

“No, not yet. My mom was insistent on it being a surprise.”

Hyunggu found it extremely endearing that Yanan’s mom still made his costumes for him after all his years of competing.

“Well, you should at least practice in it a few times before the qualifiers, right?”

“Please, all of the costumes she makes are the same. I’m sure it won’t feel any different. I love my mom, but it might be nice to have a professional make them for me if I ever go to the Olympics or something.”

Yanan’s bright laugh fills the rink, bouncing off the walls and echoing in Hyunggu’s ears, a pleasant melody.

“Why are you laughing? You could totally go to the Olympics. Team China would  _ kill _ to have you. And Tonya Harding’s mom made her costumes, or something. Probably.”

“I don’t know, Hyunggu. I’m 23 already. I’m afraid I’ll only be able to compete in a couple Games before I have to retire. Besides, your style of skating is so much more modern and exciting to watch, you know?”

Hyunggu sighs and slows down a bit. Of course he’s thought about the Olympics - every young figure skater has at some point. But he can’t help but feel that he’ll never be enough for the judges, and his mild personality doesn’t exactly help him when it comes to going on TV, which is mostly what the Olympics is about anyways.

“Hey, Hyunggu. I get it if you’re not going to try out. Just, think about it, okay? Maybe it’ll make Wooseok leave you alone for once.”

That makes Hyunggu giggle a bit, but he’s quickly silenced when he hears the loud voices of the hockey team behind him. Sure enough, when he looks at his watch, he notices that it’s time for them to go.

“Speak of the devil,” Hyunggu mutters under his breath, seeing Wooseok and one of his teammates approaching them. He knows him - Yeo Changgu, the team’s right wing and the man that Yanan has hopelessly fallen for. Hyunggu couldn’t blame him - Changgu was friendly, funny, and most importantly, incredibly attractive. Hyunggu got along with him well enough, and he’d been trying to set him up with Yanan as a favor for getting Wooseok off his back.

“I heard you have a big qualifier coming up in a few days. I figured I should stop by to wish you bad luck. Unbreak a leg, or whatever,” Wooseok says, blowing a strand of hair out of his face.

Hyunggu doesn’t respond, and instead looks over Wooseok’s shoulder at Changgu.

“I hate to break up your little date, Hyunggu, but you’re wasting our time. Practice was supposed to start five minutes ago.”

“Isn’t the rest of the team always late anyways?

“Whatever. You’re still taking up our precious rink time.”

Hyunggu huffs and drags Yanan out of the rink with him, pulling him over to the vending machine as Yanan rocks back and forth on his skates. As Hyunggu’s waiting for his poptart to dispense, he hears someone approach him from behind.

“Hey, just to let you know, Wooseok’s going to be out of town for the qualifiers. Don’t worry about him, okay? I know you’re gonna do great.”

Hyunggu turns around to see Changgu and another member of the hockey team, Yuto, looking at him with wide smiles.

“Thanks, guys.”

“Of course,” Yuto chimes in. “He might sound mean at times but he’s actually a total sweetheart. He just likes teasing people. If you tell him to stop, I’m sure he will without a second thought.”

“I can’t just ask him to stop! I’m afraid of confrontation. What if he really does hate me?”

“I can guarantee he doesn’t,” Changgu quips, causing Yuto to chuckle under his breath.

“What is that even supposed to mean?”

“Oh, you’ll see."

### ❄️

On the day of the short program, Hyunggu has all but forgotten about his encounter with the hockey team from the other day. He’s fallen into the familiar and comfortable routine he gets into right before a competition - his brain runs on autopilot to prevent him from feeling the stress of competing. He has rules for himself - don’t change your sleep schedule, don’t eat anything you wouldn’t normally, and most importantly -  _ avoid Wooseok. _ This normally works out fine for him - the has no reason to be at his competitions, anyways - until, that is, the day of the competition.

The free program was fairly unremarkable. Hyunggu performed a routine he was familiar with, with no crazy spins or jumps and earned himself a solid 178.6. It’s not great, but it’s still in the top five, and that’s all he could have asked for. He’s more nervous about his short program; it’s new, and has a quadruple in it. Whatever. He’ll be fine. He’s  _ Kang fucking Hyunggu _ ! Of course he’ll be fine. At least, that’s what he tells himself.

As him and the other skaters warm up, doing bunny hops and small, aborted spins around the rink, Hyunggu risks a glance into the audience to see who he’s performing for. He regrets it as soon as his eyes catch a particularly tall figure in a white sweater and a beanie - Wooseok.

His routine has been broken. The stress of the qualifiers he’s managed to avoid until now catches up to him all at once as the two make eye contact, and Hyunggu nearly trips over his own feet as he makes his way towards the locker rooms, where he knows Yanan is.

As soon as the pink-haired man comes into Hyunggu’s view, he’s running towards him, not even caring that he’s interrupting him while he’s in the middle of stretching.

“Yanan, he’s here. He’s fucking here.”

Yanan whipped his head around, not even seeing or hearing Hyunggu approach. His mouth corners turn down in confusion as he breaks away from his stretching group to face Hyunggu.

“Who?”

Hyunggu looks around - he doesn’t even know why he does, this area is reserved for competitors only - before lowering his voice.

“Wooseok. Jung Wooseok is sitting in that fucking audience. Right now.”

Yanan looks puzzled, like this is some sort of elaborate joke, until Hyunggu is practically shoving him towards the rink.

“Look. He’s right there, in the front row on the left.”

Yanan hesitantly steps out onto the rink, circling around a bit before turning back towards Hyunggu incredulously, eyes wide.

“Why the hell is he here? Wasn’t he supposed to be out of town?”

“Do I look like his best friend? I don’t know!”

Hyunggu is shaking with nerves now, eyes glossy, threatening to flood with tears.

“He messed up my whole thing! Do you think he came on purpose? To make me fuck up?”

Yanan eventually managed to drag Hyunggu over to a more secluded corner, holding him by his shoulders to steady him.

“Listen, Hyunggu. Listen to me. I know you can’t really ignore him, but just promise me that you’ll try, okay? You’re on in like, an hour. Go get ready.”

Yanan pulls him into a hug before he glances at the clock behind them, grimacing as he does.

“I have to go get dressed. You’ve got this, Ggu.”

Yanan gives him a slight smile and a pat on the back before he disappears into the locker rooms, several others following behind him. Hyunggu stands still for a second, still trying to process everything that Yanan told him, before eventually heading off to join them.

### ❄️

Hyunggu is all dressed up now, cardigan wrapped tightly around his shoulders, trying his hardest not to cry lest he ruin his perfectly blended makeup or meticulously styled hair. His brain is muffling out all the sounds around him, until he hears Yanan’s name being announced over the echo-y loudspeakers and he perks up.

Hyunggu will never not be impressed by the way Yanan carries himself while he’s skating. He’s oozing with confidence, arms open by his sides and chest pushed out. He looks like one of those colorful birds of paradise, Hyunggu thinks, silver and black skating costume contrasting wonderfully with his fluffy pink hair.

The song starts, and it’s familiar - one Hyunggu suggested, actually - he knew Yanan would do it justice. High-pitched piano notes fill the rink and Yanan is instantly bursting with energy, perfectly landing all of his elements. Hyunggu glances at the judges, and they seem impressed - Hyunggu doesn’t even know why he needs to look. They’re always impressed by Yanan. Everyone in the audience seems to be as enraptured by the Chinese man’s performance as the judges are.

Hyunggu’s eyes track Yanan across the rink, refusing to break away from him in fear that he’ll try to find Wooseok in the crowd again. Yanan is doing a good job of distracting him, as the music swells and Yanan hits his signature combination spin, following it with a wide smile. Yanan would be perfect for the Olympics, Hyunggu thinks. His naturally extroverted nature would turn him into a national sensation overnight.

When Yanan’s free program ends, Hyunggu’s brain shuts off again. He vaguely remembers watching Yanan give him a small thumbs up when his scores are announced. They’re more than enough to qualify him for nationals, but he still seems disappointed at the fact that he didn’t set the personal record he’s always aiming towards. 

Hyunggu doesn’t know how much time passes between the end of Yanan’s routine and when he’s being shuffled out of his seat, whispers of  _ you’re up next  _ and  _ good luck, hyunggu!  _ going in one ear and out the other. As soon as he steps out onto the ice, though, a sudden feeling of calm envelops him. He suddenly feels confident again, like the ice under his feet is somehow giving him strength. It kind of is, in a way - the cold air rising off the ground and filling his body forces him to focus.

There’s an uncomfortably long silence before his music starts and he can almost feel Wooseok’s eyes burning holes into his skin from the audience. He tries his best to ignore it, and gets into his starting position, arms raised high above his head, gaze tilted up as if he might be able to see the starry night sky if the roof weren’t in the way.

The song starts out slow, sensual almost - normally when Hyunggu performs it he feels sexy, powerful,  _ gorgeous. _ Now he just feels embarrassed, and the sound of Wooseok’s snickers echo through his head. He pushes onward, though, and finds his footing quickly as he prepares for his first jump. He lands it smoothly enough, and his fears start to melt away as the applause of the audience reaches his ears.

As the climax of the song approaches, Hyunggu remembers that there’s a quadruple jump in this routine. He’s only ever landed those during practice. He glosses over that thought, though, and has almost entirely forgotten about Wooseok, and the rest of the rink, for that matter, when he enters the jump. He’s in a haze, almost - more so than when he usually skates, and he regrets not being focused as soon as he leaves the ground.

Hyunggu doesn’t realize he’s under-rotated until he’s already in the air. The thought clouds his brain and he can feel himself teetering between the outside world and the little bubble he puts himself in while he’s skating. Right before he finishes the jump, the bubble pops, and he doesn’t even make the slightest effort to land before he feels himself collide with the ice below. Hard.

He tries to get up and finish his routine, eventually managing after scrabbling around on the ice like a dog running around on hardwood. He’s way behind and he can feel the stares of the judges burning his skin as he tries to catch up, completely skipping the spin that was supposed to follow his jump.

He doesn’t bow like he’s supposed to when he’s finished. He doesn’t go to the kiss and cry either, just walks right past it without glancing at his coach. He doesn’t even care to put his skate guards on and just walks right out of the rink, cheeks burning and head hung low out of embarrassment. The ground is still a bit slippery from the rain that had fallen earlier that day but Hyunggu doesn’t care, and he barely registers the clinking of his blades against the concrete as he finds a ledge to sit on. Once he finally gets settled, he tugs his skates off and props his socked feet up under him, not even caring that they’re getting wet and making him even colder than he already is in his sheer skating costume.

Hyunggu’s so caught up in a wave of his own self-pity that he doesn’t hear the familiar voice calling his name until it’s right next to him. At first he thinks it’s his coach, but no, the voice is too deep. Maybe it’s one of his friends, but he could’ve sworn they weren’t even at the competition in the first place. Hyunggu decides that just looking up at the person to see who they are would be a lot less tedious and nerve-wracking than trying to guess, and what he’s not expecting at all is for the one and only Jung Wooseok to be standing there with an expression on his face that’s vague and hard to read in the dark. Hyunggu braces himself for a torrent of insults and mean names but what he gets instead is a tentative hand on his knee and a barely audible “hey, you good?” coming from the hockey player.

Hyunggu sniffles and shakes his head, refusing to look up at Wooseok.

“Here, let me get your stuff for you. What does your skate bag look like?”

“It’s all black and has a daisy charm on it.”

“Stay here, okay?”

As Wooseok walks away, Hyunggu is left in a state of dizzy, tear-clouded confusion. Wooseok had never shown him a nice gesture like that. Even before the two became rivals, Wooseok was always just… polite. Tolerable. Never nice. Despite the two being around each other since they were in diapers, Wooseok and Hyunggu were never friends. Even as children, they were so fundamentally different that neither of them could stand the other. Something foreign and strange sat in the pit of Hyunggu’s stomach as he thought. Was Wooseok trying to play him? Was this all just one big game?

His fears were dissolved, however, when Wooseok returned with Hyunggu’s skate bag thrown over one shoulder and skate guards in hand. Wordlessly, Wooseok helped him into his sweater and shoes, then dried off his skates and put them in the bag gently.

After a long silence of the two just sitting on the ledge, not looking at each other, Hyunggu speaks up.

“Weren’t you supposed to be out of town?”

“I had to cancel.”

“Where were you headed?”

“I, U-uh…” Wooseok stammers and picks at the sleeves of his jacket, a nervous habit of his.

“I was going to visit my parents.”

“Wooseok, your parents live half an hour away. You know that’s a lie.”

The hockey player sighs deeply.

“You’re right. I was never going out of town.”

“So what was your big plan? To come to the qualifiers knowing that I would fuck up?”

“We never meant it to turn out that way. I didn’t think you would actually  _ see _ me.”

“Well, I did.”

The two sit in silence for a bit longer, until the both of them can feel tiny dropets of rain falling on their faces.

“It’s raining again,” Wooseok says.

“Who’s ‘we?’”

“Me, Changgu, and Yuto.”

“And what was the original plan?”

“Well, uh,”

Wooseok sits and faces Hyunggu. The older man is still looking at his feet, clacking his toes together as they dangle above the ground.

“I actually really like you. Like I have a crush on you. I think. I don’t know. Crush feels like the wrong word. But I always felt weird about telling you, since I know we’re kind of… enemies. So the plan was for me to come to the competition and watch you do amazing, and then congratulate you and confess. I brought flowers, too, you know.”

“Well, I didn’t do amazing, but at least you got to confess.”

“You didn’t see your score?”

Hyunggu looks up at Wooseok and cocks his head. He’d left in such a hurry that he probably didn’t hear the judges announcing his score.

“No…”

“Hyunggu, you  _ did _ do amazing. You got a 93.6! That’s more than enough to qualify you for nationals.”

Hyunggu’s eyes light up and Wooseok thinks it’s the cutest thing in the world. The figure skater’s hands grab onto Wooseok’s shoulders in disbelief.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. If you want we can go look at the scoreboard.”

At that, Hyunggu leans back, seemingly coming to his senses and calming down.

“I didn’t address the other part of the plan, though.”

Wooseok tenses up, his hands clenching into fists without him even realizing it.

“Wooseok, I… I think I have a crush on you too. I don’t know. I felt weird about it because of the whole enemies thing, but when you’re around the team, you just seem so… sweet, and caring, and passionate. And you’re really cute too. I just… I don’t know.”

Wooseok nods, trying to hold back his excitement at even getting a chance with Hyunggu.

“It’s just, you tease me so much that it doesn’t really feel like you’re being sincere with me. If you’re honest, and this isn’t some big joke, just - Whatever happens with our relationship, can we just stop this? Stop the teasing, and the rivalry? It’s stupid, and we’re in our 20s now. We know better.”

Wooseok nods slowly before placing one of his large hands over Hyunggu’s.

“Hyunggu, I teased you because I was insecure. I know it’s shitty of me, but you always seemed so… untouchable. Out of my league. Everyone loves you, Hyunggu. You’re a star. I guess I was just trying to make myself feel better because no one cares about the hockey team’s center.”

“Oh, Wooseok…”

Hyunggu puts his hand back on Wooseok’s shoulder, rubbing slightly with his thumb.

“I always thought you were so cool, being a hockey player. Everyone teased me for being a figure skater. They thought it was a ‘girly’ sport. I honestly considered quitting before you started teasing me. But when you did, it just… I wanted to prove myself, I guess? I wanted to be good enough for you.”

Wooseok scoots closer and tentatively places his hand on Hyunggu’s cheek, the older sighing as he leans into the warmth.

“Hyunggu, you’ve always been good enough for me.”

The figure skater opens his eyes - he didn’t even realize they were closed - to find Wooseok’s face extremely close to his. Hyunggu realizes they could kiss right now if they wanted to and Wooseok does too because before he can even process what’s going on, Wooseok’s lips are on his. Hyunggu’s quick to wrap his arms around the taller man’s neck, pulling him even closer than they already are. The kiss is slow, and gentle, and exactly the opposite of how he expected Wooseok to kiss him but he doesn’t mind. When they finally pull away for air, Wooseok has that same stupid grin on his face.

“God, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

Hyunggu just smiles dumbly as Wooseok stands up, offering Hyunggu his hand.

“Let’s go check out that scoreboard, huh?”

### ❄️

They do, and it’s wonderful. Wooseok gives Hyunggu the flowers; a delicate bouquet of pink carnations, baby’s breath, and daisies - of course. When the final scores are announced, Hyunggu places 4th and Wooseok barely hesitates before leaning down to kiss him, making Hyunggu drop the bouquet in shock. As they kiss, he can hear the hollering and cheering of the rest of the hockey team somewhere behind them.

When Hyunggu pulls away, he looks towards where the hockey team is standing, and notices a familiar, pink-haired figure.

“Yanan? Were you in on this too?”

“Sure was. My  _ boyfriend _ told me all about it.”

Changgu, who’s blushing and looking at the ground, nods. Wooseok laughs brightly, saying something about being glad about not being the only one to confess tonight. Hyunggu lets out a squeal, running over to Yanan and crushing him in a hug. 

“I’m so happy for you two!”

Yanan grins and pulls Changgu into his arms, giving him a peck on the lips. At that, the other hockey players make sounds of mock disgust. Changgu just blushes even redder and seems to only be able to look at either Yanan or the floor.

However, Hyunggu notices that Yanan’s face falls when his eyes shift back to the scoreboard. He got second place, which is amazing, but he knows that Yanan is always striving for first, and he must be a bit upset right now.

With a sigh, Yanan sits down on a bench, starting to unlace his skates. Changgu sits next to him, leaning into his side.

“I could’ve done better. I got first place in that regional competition a few weeks ago with the same routine.”

“Hey, Yanan. It’s okay. Second place is amazing! I bet the judges were just having a bad day.”

“It still feels like I’ll never be good enough for them.”

“Yanan, if it helps at all, just know that you’ll always be good enough for me.”

Changgu presses a sweet kiss to Yanan’s lips while Hyunggu and Wooseok break out into laughter, essentially ruining the moment.

“What’s so funny?” Yanan asks, voice cracking from the tears he’s starting to shed.

Through laughter, Hyunggu jerks a thumb at Wooseok. “Changgu, he said that same exact thing to me.”

Changgu laughs, almost toppling over from the force of it, and eventually, so does Yanan - score entirely forgotten as the four of them move to walk out of the rink together.

Yanan and Changgu kiss each other goodbye before Hyunggu is swept up in a hug.

“You did so good, Ggu. I’m so proud of you. You’re gonna do great at nationals, yeah?”

Hyunggu nods and watches as the two of them head their separate ways.

Wooseok turns to Hyunggu and pulls him close, just standing there and breathing him in for a little while.

“I’m sorry, Hyunggu. For everything. The rivalry is over now.”

“It’s okay, Wooseok. You don’t have anything to apologize for. We were both stupid.”

Wooseok just exhales and tilts Hyunggu’s head up, placing a peck on his forehead.

“Here. I’ll give you my number so you can tell me where nationals are going to be. And just to talk to me, if you want to.”

Hyunggu nods and watches as Wooseok punches the numbers into his phone, handing it back to him with a grin.

“See ya in a few weeks!”

### ❄️

When nationals finally arrive, unlike before, Hyunggu is looking for Wooseok in the crowd. He had told him where he was sitting, and he scanned that spot as he looped around the rink during warmups. Eventually, he noticed a familiar red beanie and waved, smiling like an idiot when Wooseok and Changgu, who was sitting next to him, waved back. Hyunggu felt warm and comfortable knowing that they were there to support him.

Hyunggu is one of the last in the queue to perform his free program, so the bar is high. Before Hyunggu starts, he looks into the crowd, and while he can’t find Wooseok again he knows he’s there. The thought gives him a rush of confidence unlike anything he’s ever felt before. Maybe breaking the routine was good.

Hyunggu lands almost all of his elements perfectly, stumbling only once on the way out of a spin. But this time, he bows, smiles, soaks up the cheers of the audience, and begins his trek over to the kiss and cry where his score will be announced.

When he gets over there, he’s met with an unfamiliar sight. His coach, and Wooseok, holding the big bouquet in his arms like a baby. Hyunggu smiles wide and leans into Wooseok as he waits for his score to be announced. There’s a camera in the corner, Hyunggu notices, and he gets an idea.

Finally, Hyunggu’s score is announced.

192.3.

Second place.

Hyunggu squeals with glee and lunges forward to kiss Wooseok, crushing the bouquet in between them. When he pulls away, he makes pointed eye contact with the camera, at which Wooseok buries his face into Hyunggu’s shoulder.

As Hyunggu skates back onto the rink to receive his medal, he looks around to see who else is on the podium with him. To his left, Ko Shinwon - an extremely talented skater with a soft spot for McDonalds - Hyunggu took him there once and they had become inseparable since. Unfortunately, Shinwon skated at a different rink, so they only ever saw each other at competitions or in their spare free time.

The bright lights shining into Hyunggu’s face blinded him temporarily as he tried to figure out who had claimed the first place spot. However, when he noticed the halo of pink around the man’s head, he knew.

Yanan had taken first place. He’d set another personal record. Looking to the side, he noticed a monitor mounted next to the audience, broadcasting the live camera feed. The smile that Yanan wore was bright enough to light up an entire city as he held the gold medal up to his face, as if making sure it were real.

Hyunggu knew in his heart that Yanan wouldn’t stop there. He was a perfectionist, always striving to do impossibly better than he already was. But knowing that Yanan would at least have that temporary burst of satisfaction, that he could be proud of something he did, made Hyunggu’s heart swell.

After the competition, Hyunggu, Wooseok, and their friends take a late-night trip to McDonalds. Over burgers and fries, they talk for nearly two hours, just cracking jokes and bonding over their shared love of skating. And Hyunggu knows that now, with the stupid rivalry out of the way and a cute boy to fall in love with as a result, he’s going to be okay.

### ❄️

**Author's Note:**

> thank you everyone for reading this! i hope u enjoy it <3 i've been sitting on this fic for months bc it was an unfinished draft but the ptg writer's group chat on twitter finally motivated me to finish it <3 please leave a comment or a kudo, i really do appreciate them!


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